Cheese mold with hinged side walls

ABSTRACT

A cheese mold is provided having side and end walls pivotally joined to a bottom member with a pressing member providing closure of the mold. The bottom, pressing member, side and end walls each have plate members with raised projections on their inner facing surfaces that space a flat inner perforated member from each of the plates, thereby facilitating drainage of whey from the cheese. A construction which provides for stable stacking of molds is achieved.

United States Patent [191 Budahn [4 1 Mar. 19, 1974 CHEESE MOLD WITHHINGED SIDE WALLS [76] Inventor: Burnell E. Budahn, Norwood, Minn.

[22] Filed: Jan. 21, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 219,777

v [52] US. Cl 425/84, 249/172 [51] Int. Cl. AOlj 25/13 [58] Field ofSearch 425/84; 249/113, 172

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 428,792 5/1890 Willey249/172 2,576.153 11/1951 Tannenberg 249/172 X 3.118.229 l/l964 Rossen.425/84 3.514.857 6/1970 Rossen 425/84 Primary Examiner-Robert D. BaldwinAttorney, Agent, or FirmSchroeder, Siegfried, Ryan & Vidas [5 7]ABSTRACT A cheese mold is provided having side and end walls pivotallyjoined to a bottom member with a pressing member providing closure ofthe mold. The bottom, pressing member, side and end walls each haveplate members with raised projections on their inner facing surfacesthat space a fiat inner perforated member from each of the plates,thereby facilitating drainage of whey from the cheese. A constructionwhich provides for stable stacking of molds is achieved.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHAR 19 IBM 3397 980 SHEET 2 OF 2Fig. 2

I8 25 V AY- JC if)! AY(AI' AV AV IV lV/l "W & W 27 CHEESE MOLD WITHHINGED SIDE WALLS My invention is directed to molds for cheeses and ismore specifically directed to a mold which will facilitate separation ofthe whey from the cheese and greatly facilitate removal of the cheesefrom the mold. The cheese mold in accordance with my inventionincorporates constructional features which provide marked improvementboth in its ruggedness and in its ease of use over those of the priorart. The mold of the invention is advantageous because of its readyrelease of the pressed cheese from the mold without damage to thesurface portions thereof. Further, the cheese mold in accordance with myinvention has a construction which permits a ready stacking of onecheese mold onto the upper surface of the pressing plate of another moldso as toprovide both a stacking for economy of space which is stable aswell as to utilize the weight of the cheese and molds as a means forbringing about the compression necessary to separate the whey from thecheese.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective and partially exploded view of acheese mold in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 1a is a perspective view of the major portions of the mold of FIG.1 in the open condition;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a plate section and theattached perforated member assembly;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a corner portion of a plate member ofthe mold showing the hinge;

FIG. 4 is a side-elevational view of the hinge forming portions of awall and bottom plate; and

FIG. 5 is a side-elevational view of two molds in accordance with theinvention in a stacked relationship.

A cheese mold in accordance with my invention readily opens to aconfiguration wherein the cheese block created during the wheyseparation is readily removed. Because of the pivotal nature of the wallportions of the mold the cheese stands free and accessible to theoperator upon pivoting of the walls away from the cheese block. Theexterior surface of the formed cheese is flat and without anysignificant protusions or pits therein due to the flat surface of theperforated members defining the inner faces of the mold. As the innerfaces of the'mold, which are defined by the perforated members, areessentially smooth there is a marked reduction in chunk removal from thefaces of the cheese due to cheese clinging to the mold members. Also dueto the construction features of the mold cleaning of the mold issimplified over that of prior art molds.

In the designing of a cheese mold meeting the above advantages it hasbeen my intention to provide a mold which is sufficiently rugged that itcan be expected to readily withstand the normal handling encountered inproduction of cheese as well as to provide a mold which is essentiallyself-contained and has as few parts as possible in its actual finishedform so as to minimize the need for handling of extraneous pieces ofequipment. The finished mold should, of course, be as light as ispossible commensurate with the strngth requirements to permit readyhandling of the mold by process personnel.

Turning to the drawings it should be understood that in each of thedrawings identical parts will be given the same numerical designation.Referring first to FIG. 1

there is illustrated in perspective and partially exploded view a cheesemold in accordance with the invention.

In FIG. la the bottom and side wall portions of the mold of FIG. I areshown in the open position. The cheese mold generally designated 10 isconstructed from a rectangularly shaped bottom member 11 and a pair ofopposing side walls 12 and 13 which are pivotally joined to the lateraledges of the bottom member. End wall members 14 and 15 are likewisejoined to the lateral edges of the bottom it in a pivoting relationship.As illustrated in FIG. 1 the four wall portions pivot up to form arectangular box-like member with flanges 16 of the end wall memberacting to enclose the end portions of side walls 12 and 13 to aid inholding the assembly together. A ring member 17 of a size to slip aboutthe outer edges of the upper end of the mold 10 is provided for holdingthe assembly in a closed position. Ring member 17 can be readily slippedon and off of the mold 10 as desired. A stop member, as will bedescribed below, holds ring 17 at the upper region of the mold. A covermember generally designated 19 provides a closure and pressure applyingmember for the mold.

Each of the bottom, side and end walls and cover members are constructedin a similar manner. That is, each has a two-layer construction with theouter facing layer formed of a plate of metal such as stainless steelwhich has been treated to have a plurality of projections on theinwardly facing surface thereof. The projections act both as supportsfor the inner layer and spacing means to provide a drainage channelbetween the two layers. The outer plate members are designated 11, l2,l3, l4 and 20. The inner layer of each is a perforated thin sheet of ametal such as stainless steel and is attached as by spot welding to theouter plate member. Each inner member is substantially coextensive withits corresponding plate member so that when the mold is in the closedposition as shown in FIG. 1 the inner perforated sheets define thesurface of the mold. These perforated sheet members are somewhatschematically designated by a partial showing of a series of holes 18and are more clearly illustrated in the typical cross-sectional showingof FIG. 2. Flange members 16 of the end walls are formed as an integralpart of the outer plate member of the end walls.

As noted above a cover member generally designated 19 provides a closuremember for mold 10 and likewise serves as a pressure plate fortransmission of pressure to the combined cheese and whey. It is of asize to slide within the space defined by the side and end walls. Thiscover member is of substantially identical construction to that of thewalls and bottom in that it has a relatively thick plate member 20'which has attached to the interior facing surface thereof a thinperforated sheet member which is utilized to permit the whey to drainout from the cheese. This will be discussed in greater detail withregard to FIG. 2. I

Referring now to FIG. 2 there is shown in crosssectional view a portionof a plate and a perforated sheet member in accordance with theinvention. The construction of each of bttom member 1 1, walls 12, 13,14 and 15 and cover 19 will be essentially identical insofar as therelationship of the principal wall plate and the perforated sheetmember. Thus, FIG. 2 is equally applicable to the general constructionof each of these members.

A relatively thick outer wall member 24 of a material such as stainlesssteel has had attached thereto by means of spot welding a thinperforated sheet member 25 which is also advantageously made ofstainless steel. I have found that the outer plate member 24 can beadvantageously made up of a stainless steel sheet stock of about 1/16inch thickness while the porous sheet 25 is desirable considerablythinner than this and may be advantageously made up in thicknesses ofabout 1/64 inch. It is desirable that plate 24 be of a minimum thicknesscommensurate with its requirements for strength both against thepressures involved in the pressing of the cheese and in its ability towithstand the normal handling it will undergo in use. Also; from a pointof view of producing the projections which space sheet 25 from plate 24it is simpler to provide such pro jections by mechanical means if plate24 does not exceed a certain thickness. As to sheet 25 the thinner thesheet the simpler it is to produce the multiple numbers of holesnecessary to permit the whey to drain readily therethrough. Sheet 25acts as a porous member for drainage. Plate 24 and its projectionsprovide the majority of the strength needed for support of plate 24 inthe flat configuration. Therefore, one can use thicknesses less thanthose indicated. The holes 18 can be produced by a variety of means wellknown in the art. The diameter of holes 18 can vary although it isdesirable that the holes have a diameter of less than 0.040 inch. Thesmall holes permit the whey to drain and because of their small sizeleave only insignificant impressions on the finished cheese surface. Thefrequency of holes will depend to some extent somewhat upon the diameterof the holes but will desirably be about 100 holes per square inch.

The spacing between sheet 25 and plate 24 should be approximately 1/64inch or greater both for drainage and for cleaning ease. The spacing isaccomplished by producing mesa-like projections on the inner surface ofplate 24. The preferred manner of producing projections is bymechanically deforming as by peening. The frequency of projections issuch that there will be primarily empty space between sheet 25 and plate24 but supportpoints will exist ona spacing of about 3/8 inch fromcenter to center of the projections. In the form illustrated in FIG. 2 Ihave provided the projection regions 26 by mechanically deforming plate24 so as to provide raised regions on the inside surface of plate 24 andcorresponding dents on the outside surface of plate 24. It will berecognized that when plate 24 surpasses certain thicknesses it will nolonger readily respond to indentations on one surface for producingprojections on the opposite surface. However, as one object of thepresent invention is maintaining the overall weight of the mold as lowas is feasible with recognition of strength requirements the preferredmanner of producing projections is by mechanical deforming of plate 24.Alternatively. one can produce similar projections by means such asmasking and chemical etching or sandblasting the inner surface of plate24 so as to provide similar projecting points. However, such techniquesare less desirable due to increased costs.

Cover member 19 is provided with a plurality of support members 21 whichare attached as by welding at opposing edges of the plate and extendtransversely across. These support members 21 have the major portion oftheir lengths raised above the surface of plate 20 a distancecorresponding to the amount of compression that the combined cheese andwhey is anticipated to undergo during the compaction and drainage. Thesupport members 21 are substantially flat across the great majority oftheir length as they span cover member 20. Thus, support members 21provide the dual function of providing a plane defined by their upperflat portions for purposes which will be described and also provide ahandling means for inserting and removing cover 19 from the mold cavity.

Referring again to FIG. 1 it will be seen that elongated handle members22 are welded or otherwise attached to the outer surface of side walls12 and 13.

Members 22 provide a dual function of providing a gripping means forlifting and otherwise handling of the mold assembly and further providea stop means for positioning ring 17 about the upper surface of thecheese mold. One advantage that my invention provides is the possibilityof stacking a plurality of cheese'molds directly above one another so asto be able to utilize the weight of succeeding cheese molds as apressure means for squeezing the whey out of the cheese in lowercontainers. However, in order to be able to stack one cheese mold on topof the other it is necessary that there be only remote chance that onemold will slip within the cavity of a lower mold to bring about atippingof the stack. By positioning ring- 17 so that its upper edge islevel with the upper edges of the walls and ends of mold 10 a somewhatbroadened platform is provided which provides the dual function ofincreasing the resting surface so as to lessen the tendency to damagethe relatively thin upper edges of the wall sections and also provide abroader base for resting of succeeding molds.

It will be noted in connection with ring 17 that a grip 23 has beenformed at the sides thereof so as to aid in lifting the ring on and offof the cheese mold assembly.

It should also be noted that this grip member 23 projects outwardly fromthe side of the ring a distance such that it is essentially parallel tothe outermost edges of handle 22. (See FIG. 5.) Thus when multiplestacks of cheese molds are arranged side by side the handle members 22and grip 23 aid in lessening the tendency for tippage to take place.That is, even with the support members 21 providing a flat surface forsucceeding cheese molds there is some possibility that due todifferential settling of the cheese within mold 10 that some tipping ofsucceeding molds will tend to occur. By providing the handle and gripmembers in the manner shown, side by side stacks of cheese moldsreinforce one another against tendency to tip.

Turning now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 it will be seen that the outer platemembers correspond to 11', 12', 13',

14' and 15" all have had the outer plate portion 24 formed at one edgethereof to produce a series of loops 27 at spaced intervals along theedges that are to be joined in a pivoting action. The spacing of loops27 along the matching edges between the walls and the bottom member willbe such as to permit interposing loops to form what is commonly referredto as a piano hinge. The hinge assembly is completed by means such aspin 28 to join the side walls in pivotal relationship to the bottom ofthe cheese mold.

In forming the piano hinge joining the side walls to the bottom Iutilize a construction as most clearly illustrated in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4bottom plate 1 1' has had the outer edges thereof curved to form a loop29 in the manner illustrated therein. In exploded view is shown loop 27of a wall portion such as wall 12 which has likewise had a loop 27formed therein for cooperative action with loop 29. As can beappreciated from a consideration of FIG. 4 the bottom plate 11' actuallyhas an extension of its overall width and length provided by loop 29 soas to broaden the base portion thereof. This broadening of the basethrough the integral forming of the hinge in the manner shown provides abase region somewhat larger than that of the wall defined area of themold. Thus, a mold will be less likely to slip within the cavity of anunderlying cheese mold. Also the lower surface is free from projectionsso it can readily slide on tables and the like with less likelihood ofcatching upon any projections. The hinge region being essentially abovethe flat lowermost portion of bottom 11 is less likely to be damaged inhandling and thus bring about binding action in the movement of thewalls.

It should now be apparent that through use of a cheese mold constructedin accordance with my invention as described above one obtains a moldwhich can be readily opened to release the cheese that has been formedtherein and because of the smooth facing and closely spaced perforationsof the inner perforated member 25 has reduced tendencies for sticking ofthe cheese to the inner facing portions of cheese mold 10. Theconstruction likewise is of lightweight construction and consists of atotal of three separable sections so that it will be readily handleablein use. Due to the unique construction of the handle members on the lidand the spacing between the flat portions thereof and the lid proper apredetermined amount of compression of the cheese can be accomplishedmerely by stacking other cheese molds on top of one another rather thangoing through a prolonged period on a powered press. As considerableperiods of time are involved in insuring that the whey is squeezed outof the cheese it is highly desirable that one does not unduly tie uppress machinery'in squeezing out the wehy.

I claim:

1. A cheese mold comprising:

a. a rectangular box-like container having a rectangular bottom plateand a pair of opposed upstanding side walls plates and a pair of opposedupstanding end wall plates extending normal to and meeting said sidewalls at their ends;

b. each of said side wall and said end wall plates being pivotallyconnected to lateral portions of said bottom plate and being swingableoutwardly from vertically extending position away from each other;

c. a rectangularly shaped pressing plate extending between the upperportions of said side and end walls and closing said container;

d. the interiorly facing surface of each of said plates having aplurality of projections extending outwardly from the interiorly facingsurface thereof;

e. flat perforated liner members without projections fixedly joined tothe interior surface of and of a size to be substantially coextensivewith each of said bottom plate, said side and end walls and saidpressing plate, each of said perforated liner mem bers having a planesurface and being spaced from the surface of each of said respectiveplates by said projections, said projections providing the sole supportmeans for said liner members, the intervening space between said linermembers and said plates providing a plurality of drainage regions; and,

f. rigid rectangularly shaped ring means removably encircling the upperportions of said container walls and holding the same in verticallyextending relation against each other to cooperatively define saidcontainer.

2. A mold in accordance with claim 1 wherein said plate members areprovided with indentations on the outwardly facing surfaces of saidplates that project through said plates to form said projections.

3. A mold in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of the adjoining edgesof plate members that pivot relative to one another are formed to aplurality of spaced loops which cooperatively are joined together by apin to form a piano hinge.

4. A mold in accordance with claim 3 wherein the hinge forming-loops ofthe base plate are above the plane defined by the lower surface of saidbase plate thereby enlarging the width and length of said base plate toa size greater than the opening defined by the upper edges of said sideand end wall plates.

5. A mold in accordance with claim 1 wherein handle means extendoutwardly from each of a pair of opposite wall members at the upperportions thereof and define a stop means for maintaining said ring meansat the upper portions of said mold.

6. A mold in accordance with claim 5 wherein said handle means arepositioned so that the upper edges of said ring means is on a plane withthe upper edges of said walls thereby defining an enlarged restingsurface for use in stacking a plurality of molds on top of one another.

7. A mold in accordance with claim 1 wherein said pressing plateincludes a plurality of support members attached thereto on the outerside thereof, each of said support members comprising a bar with aU-shape the ends of which are joined to opposite edges of said plate,the portion of said support member intermediate the ends thereof beingin raised relationship to said plate and defining with the other supportmembers a generally fiat plane parallel to the plane of said pressingplate.

1. A cheese mold comprising: a. a rectangular box-like container havinga rectangular bottom plate and a pair of opposed upstanding side wallsplates and a pair of opposed upstanding end wall plates extending normalto and meeting said side walls at their ends; b. each of said side walland said end wall plates being pivotally connected to lateral portionsof said bottom plate and being swingable outwardly from verticallyextending position away from each other; c. a rectangularly shapedpressing plate extending between the upper portions of said side and endwalls and closing said container; d. the interiorly facing surface ofeach of said plates having a plurality of projections extendingoutwardly from the interiorly facing surface thereof; e. flat perforatedliner members without projections fixedly joined to the interior surfaceof and of a size to be substantially coextensive with each of saidbottom plate, said side and end walls and said pressing plate, each ofsaid perforated liner members having a plane surface and being spacedfrom the surface of each of said respective plates by said projections,said projections providing the sole support means for said linermembers, the intervening space between said liner members and saidplates providing a plurality of drainage regions; and, f. rigidrectangularly shaped ring means removably encircling the upper portionsof said container walls and holding the same in vertically extendingrelation against each other to cooperatively define said container.
 2. Amold in accordance with claim 1 wherein said plate members are providedwith indentations on the outwardly facing surfaces of said plates thatproject through said plates to form said projections.
 3. A mold inaccordance with claim 1 wherein each of the adjoining edges of platemembers that pivot relative to one another are formed to a plurality ofspaced loops which cooperatively are joined together by a pin to form apiano hinge.
 4. A mold in accordance with claim 3 wherein the hingeforming loops of the base plate are above the plane defined by the lowersurface of said base plate thereby enlarging the width and length ofsaid base plate to a size greater than the opening defined by the upperedges of said side and end wall plates.
 5. A mold in accordance withclaim 1 wherein handle means extend outwardly from each of a pair ofopposite wall members at the upper portions thereof and define a stopmeans for maintaining said ring means at the upper portions of saidmold.
 6. A mold in accordance with claim 5 wherein said handle means arepositioned so that the upper edges of said ring means is on a plane withthe upper edges of said walls thereby defining an enlarged restingsurface for use in stacking a plurality of molds on top of one another.7. A mold in accordance with claim 1 wherein said pressing plateincludes a plurality of support members attached thereto on the outerside thereof, each of said support members comprising a bar with aU-shape the ends of which are joined to opposite edges of said plate,the portion of said support member intermediate the ends thereof beingin raised relationship to said plate and defining with the other supportmembers a generally flat plane parallel to the plane of said pressingplate.